Office of Dietary Supplements:
A Key NCCAM Partner
Paul Coates, Ph.D., Director of the Office of Dietary Supplements
Dietary supplements are widely used, both as CAM therapies and for other health-related purposes. While NCCAM supports research on dietary supplements and their ingredients as one type of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), another component of NIH, the Office of Dietary Supplements, provides special expertise and exclusive focus on this important area of CAM.
The NIH Office of Dietary Supplements, often called just ODS, works on its own, with NCCAM, and with other agencies and organizations to:
- Stimulate and support research in this field
- Share research results
- Evaluate scientific information
- Educate the public.
ODS was created in 1995 as part of the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 (DSHEA, or Public Law 103–417), and is part of the Office of Disease Prevention, within the Office of the NIH Director.
"ODS is a very important partner with NCCAM," says Josephine P. Briggs, M.D., NCCAM Director. "Collaborations such as this and across NIH allow us to share resources and expertise in many areas of interest that we have in common, and maximize the return on research investment. ODS has also collaborated with us on some outreach efforts so that we can share information on supplements used as CAM with the broadest possible audience. One example of terrific cooperation is our work on cranberry for recurrent urinary tract infections."
Paul Coates, Ph.D., Director of ODS, says, "There are many hopes pinned on dietary supplements for improving health and reducing the risk of chronic disease-hopes realized in some cases by scientific research that has been funded by NIH. However ingredients used in some dietary supplements have not undergone the rigorous testing needed to establish their efficacy and safety. A number of them are under active, early investigation by NIH institutes and centers."
How Many Americans Use Supplements?
Some dietary supplements and prescription drugs can interact with each other, which can influence their therapeutic and side effects in the body.
© iStockphoto.com/ackleyroadphotos
In the 1999–2000 NHANES survey by the National Center for Health Statistics, out of about 5,000 participants, 57 percent of women and 47 percent of men used a supplement.
The 2002 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) found that among about 31,000 respondents, in the 12 months before the survey, close to 19 percent had used one or more "nonvitamin, non-mineral natural products" as CAM—including herbals and other dietary supplements. About 3 percent of respondents had used megavitamin therapy as CAM. In addition, the survey asked about use of some whole medical systems that may include herbal medicine and dietary supplements—such as traditional Chinese medicine, Ayurveda, naturopathy, homeopathy, and folk medicine (for example, Curanderismo and Native American healing.) Further analyses of the NHIS data are yielding more information on those who use CAM therapies and the patterns of use (see CAM Use in America).
Getting the Word Out About the Science
ODS offers to the public:
- A Web site and a listserv
- Publications such as fact sheets and backgrounders, some produced in collaboration with NCCAM or the NIH Clinical Center; an annual bibliography; workshop summaries; and a newsletter
- A Strategic Plan for 2004–2009
- Two databases on dietary supplements—one of literature citations (IBIDS) and one of research project descriptions (CARDS)
- Conferences and workshops, and an intensive course for academic faculty and graduate students
- Evidence-based reviews, some cofunded by NCCAM, performed through the Evidence-based Practice Centers (EPC) Program of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). Topics available are
- Vitamin D in relation to bone health
- Soy and health outcomes
- Multivitamin/multimineral supplements in prevention of cancer and chronic disease
- Health effects of omega-3 fatty acids
- Ephedra and ephedrine for weight loss and athletic performance enhancement
- B vitamins and berries and age-related neurodegenerative disorders.
Areas of Research Activity
Some of the main areas in which ODS works to advance research are
- The NIH Botanical Research Centers, which are cofunded by ODS and NCCAM. These centers study botanicals from the laboratory up to the clinical level.
- Other research grants, cofunded with NIH institutes and centers.
- A training and career development program in dietary supplement research.
- Initiatives to develop and validate methods for analyzing dietary supplements and to develop reference materials.
Dr. Coates comments, "I'm delighted to direct an office whose mission is focused on strengthening knowledge and understanding of dietary supplements."
ODS's Web site is dietary-supplements.info.nih.gov, and its mailing address is Office of Dietary Supplements, NIH, 6100 Executive Blvd., Room 3B01, MSC 7517, Bethesda, MD 20892-7517. Information about the NIH Botanical Research Centers is available at www.ods.od.nih.gov/research/dietary_supplement_ research_centers.aspx. AHRQ's EPC Evidence Reports are available at www.ahrq.gov/clinic/epcindex.htm.
